Shattered
by PlushChrome
Summary: Tony wakes up in the middle of a fight, with no idea what's going on or why. All he knows is that everything is shattered, and the world is in the worst war in history. Rated T for violence and wartime themes.
1. Prologue

Summary: Tony wakes up in the middle of a fight, with no idea what's going on or why. All he knows is that everything is shattered, and the world is in the worst war in history. Rated T for violence and wartime themes.

Warnings: Violence, wartime themes, might possibly be a character death, I haven't decided. Pepperony romance, nothing above PG. No slash.

* * *

_**Prologue**_

Burning. Burning burning burning burning. He was on fire, he was burning alive. It tore at his lungs, it ripped at his heart. He couldn't breathe; he was dying, dying...

He was drowning, drowning in fire and pain and he couldn't breathe, he couldn't breathe... his lungs screamed at him and he tried to scream himself, but no sound came out, nothing he could hear with the deafening silence pounding through his head as he drowned.

The fire burst through his mind and the white was so bright that it blinded him. The searing heat burned and scorched its way through him until he felt he couldn't handle the pain anymore.

"Tony!" He thought he heard someone calling his name, but it was so far away, so very far away... he couldn't make it, he couldn't handle the pain anymore. He was going to die, he knew it. He was going to drown in fire and burn in silence, ripped apart and devoured by flames. He couldn't make it.

"Tony! Hang on, Tony, just hang on, we'll get through this... MEDIC! OVER HERE, NOW!"

The voice sounded familiar, but he couldn't place it. He suddenly realized he was floating, and someone had a hold of his arm. He focused on that spot, trying to ignore the fire in his head.

"Wha-" He tried to breathe out.

"Tony, it's okay, don't try to talk," the voice said. "Just breathe. Breathe, Tony, don't give up!"

Tony took a breath and the fire raced to his side. He choked, unable to draw a second breath.

"He can't breathe, do something!" The voice yelled. There were voices yelling all around, he realized. He almost recognized a few of them, he almost recognized them-

BOOM!

Tony stopped floating and hit the ground with a thud, fire overtaking all thought for a moment.

Rolling over, he opened his eyes.

The world was burning. Fire and smoke filled the air, and the ground was overrun with the rubble of collapsed buildings, beams and crumbled walls and glass littered the street like confetti.

He let out a strangled yell, what had happened?

"Tony!" The first voice said again, and he turned to see Pepper running up to him, her hair long and wild, flying about her dirty face, dressed in black jeans and a tank top, a bloodied bandage wrapped around her arm just below her shoulder. The sight stunned him and completely broke his heart.

"Get him back on the stretcher," she said. "We've got to get to the compound, NOW!"

A few other people leaned over and lifted him onto a stretcher. "That blast," one of them said. "It was from the outpost. We need to get a response team out there ASAP."

"Got it," Pepper said, reaching up to her ear and clicking on a blue device. "Attention all units," she said. "Situation at the outpost; compromised. Closest strike team, report."

She clicked the device off and hurried to catch up with the team as they carried the stretcher to a modified van, modified as in there was armored plating covering the windows, and the back seats had been ripped out to give room for things such as stretchers.

He was loaded into the van and Pepper ducked in after him, kneeling down next to him as the van started up and began racing through the broken streets, jolting and bumping heavily.

He let out a few gasps of pain, and the fire began to consume him again.

"Tony," Pepper said urgently, trying to steady him as best she could. "Tony, everything's going to be fine. You have to be alright, you just have to be. Keep breathing, Tony, we're almost at the compound."

Tony stared up into her eyes, they were red and puffy. "Wha-" he tried again before his raspy throat rendered him mute.

"Shh," Pepper said. "It's alright, Tony, we'll figure all this out once we reach the compound. I promise."

Tony looked into her face as a single tear made it's way down her dirt-smudged cheek.

He nodded. She let out a small smile.

"There," she said. "That's better."

BOOM!

That one sounded farther away than the last one, but the van gave a lurch anyway, and Tony felt the fire overcome as he knew no more.

* * *

He gasped awake, he was in a crowded large room, the basement of a warehouse of some sort, most likely. There were people everywhere, lying on cots, beds, couches, some were on the floor or leaning against the wall, and they were all in a bad sort as far as injuries went. He was apparently in some sort of sick bay area in the compound Pepper had been speaking about, there were Medics working over him and Pepper was standing nearby, yelling directions into her earpiece.

"No," she was saying. "Get out of there, now. They're advancing, they'll be on you any second."

"Pepper," Tony croaked out, and she gasped.

"Tony!" She said breathlessly, before she frowned. "No," she said into her earpiece. "I wasn't talking to you, Tony just woke up." She huffed. "...Get out of there, then, and tell him yourself," she said.

She reached up and clicked the device off before walking over to Tony. "Tony," she said with a small smile. "We almost lost you last night."

"Pepper," Tony said again, but she held up a hand.

"Just a moment," she said. "Let me go try to find some water for your throat.

"No," he rasped, reaching out and grabbing her hand. "This is important."

She sighed and smiled sadly at him. "What is it, Tony?" She asked.

"I... I can't remember," Tony said.

Pepper frowned. "You can't remember what?" She asked.

Tony frowned, trying to think of the right word. "...Anything," he said finally.

Pepper's eyes grew wide. "What!?" She said. "Tony, what does that mean? No, get back," She said, shoeing away the medic, who had tried to push past her to do something. "Tony, what do you mean you don't remember anything?"

"I- I don't..." Tony stammered. "I don't remember, this- the city's destroyed- we're in some kinda war-"

"Oh, my, this can't be happening," Pepper said. "No, it- it just can't! Tony, think, you have to remember!"

Pepper looked so scared and broken that it made Tony want to cry. He didn't, but he wanted to. "Pepper," he said. "What happened? You have to tell me what happened!"

Pepper took a deep breath. "...Tell me what you _do_ remember," she said.

Tony frowned. "I..." he said. "Last thing I- I remember, was... We were throwing a party..."

Pepper frowned. "A party?" She asked. "What kind of party? When was this?"

"It-it was to celebrate," Tony said. "We'd just finished the tower after... after Loki..."

Pepper's mouth dropped open. "You mean, right after the Chitauri attack!?" She asked.

Tony nodded. "That's- that's bad?" He asked.

"Oh, Tony..." Pepper said, squeezing his hand tightly and looking into his face. "That was six years ago."


	2. The Plunge

Tony was shocked. "...what?" He finally managed to whisper.

Pepper nodded, worrying her bottom lip and still squeezing his hand tightly. "Tony," she said. "The Chitauri attacked New York six years ago. They nearly destroyed the city, but you stopped them, along with the rest of the Avengers."

Tony swallowed. "I remember that part," He rasped.

Pepper turned to one of the medics. "Go find some water," she said.

The medic nodded and ran off, and Pepper turned back to Tony. "There was peace for a few years," she said. "Well, you know, aside from a few threats you all handled pretty easily."

Tony looked at her, silently asking her to keep going.

"...Then the war started," Pepper said. "It's lasted for three years- Oh, Tony..."

"What!?" He asked, coughing slightly. "What's wrong, what is it?"

"Nothing," Pepper amended quickly, biting her lip and looking away.

"Pepper," Tony said. "I've known you long enough to know when you're lying."

"Forget it," Pepper said, standing up. "I have to go above ground, the strike team should be returning any moment. If they followed orders, that is."

"Pepper," Tony said urgently. "I'm sorry. Whatever I said, I'm sorry, please don't leave me, I need you."

Pepper looked like she was about to cry. "I need you too," she said. "I just- I have a job to do, Tony, and if I- if emotions get control of me, this war will be over, and not in a good way."

"Pep..." Tony said pleadingly.

Pepper took a shuddering breath. "...I have to go meet the team," she said. "But I'll come right back, I promise. I won't run from this. We- we'll handle this. We can get through it together, just like everything else."

Tony briefly wondered what all 'everything else' entailed, and he nodded.

Pepper turned and all but ran from the room, and Tony turned his attention to evaluating his injuries.

First thing he noticed was that most of his right forearm was bandaged pretty heavily. Flexing his fingers, a jolt of pain shot through his arm, making him hiss.

His left arm was alright, and he raised his hand up to his head, where he could feel thick bandages wrapped around his head, covering his ear, but he couldn't feel much pain, only a throbbing headache. That wasn't a good sign.

He took a deep breath and felt pain in his side, so his lungs were affected somehow, and possibly his ribs as well.

His self-diagnosis was interrupted then as the medic came back with a glass of water. "Here you go, Tony," she said, and he hesitated for a second before taking the glass and drinking deeply.

The water was stale, like it had been left out for a day or two. But he found he was so thirsty it didn't matter.

The medic watched him drink and licked her lips, and Tony paused again, before offering her the cup, which was now half-empty.

"Oh, no thanks," The medic said quickly, looking away and blushing slightly. "I've got my afternoon rations coming in a couple hours. This is the medical supply, you need it more than I do."

Tony frowned. "That bad, huh?" He asked.

The medic looked at him sadly. "You really don't remember?" She asked quietly.

Tony avoided looking at the sad expression in the girl's eyes, instead turning his attention to the water. It was clean, at least, he noted. No bits of dirt or anything floating around. He sipped slowly, if the water was rationed, this would have to last him for a little while at least.

Realizing that the girl was chuckling, he looked back at her. "Something I do amuse you?" He asked her.

"Yes and no," the girl said. "It's a little amusing to see you revert to how you acted when we first met. And it's not at the same time, because that means you don't trust me anymore, and I have to start from the beginning."

Tony was surprised. "We friends then?" he asked.

The girl chuckled again, smiling, but Tony realized with a jolt that he recognized it as a sad smile.

"You could say that," she said. "I'm Lucy, by the way." She held out her hand, and Tony accepted it hesitantly, an act that didn't escape the girl's notice. "That's right," she said. "Just like the day we met. This should be interesting."

"Tony!" Tony and Lucy both turned to see Pepper returning, following a very worried Captain America. Tony did a double take upon the sight of the supersoldier, because of the drastic change in appearance. Steve Rogers looked so much older, not in physical appearance, although he definitely had aged some. No, it was in the way he carried himself; in the expression of his eyes, that really spoke to Tony about how much had to have changed over the past six years.

Cap's hair was cut short, shorter than it had been before, and it was a shade darker than before as well, leading Tony to guess that it was dirty, perhaps from a fight. Instead of the stars and stripes, he was wearing black pants and a black sleeveless shirt, with a gun holster over his shoulder. His face was dirty as well, and he had a cut on his face that looked to be in the scabbing stage.

"Cap?" Tony asked. "What happened to you!?"

Steve paused and turned to Pepper, frowning in confusion.

"Um," she said quickly, catching up to Steve and looking at him anxiously. "Steve, Tony has..." She swallowed loudly. "He has amnesia," She finished. "The explosion caused some damage, we don't know how severe, without the medical equipment to determine, we have to make do with what we can figure out ourselves-"

"What!?" Tony demanded, eyes widening in panic. They hadn't been able to do any scans?! His brain was damaged! That was all he had! If his mind wasn't working to full capacity, he was nothing! What if he'd lost his genius?!

"Tony, I-" Pepper began, but Tony cut her off.

"Ask me a question," He ordered desperately. "Make it hard. The hardest thing you can think of."

"Tony," Steve began. "It's alright, we'll figure this out-"

"Make it so hard, you don't even know the answer," Tony continued, starting to sit up, only to realize that his side still burned like fire. "No wait," He groaned, settling back down. "Don't do that, because then we won't know if I'm right-"

"What's the definition of the word fear?" Lucy asked, and Tony turned to her with a frown.

"Are you serious!?" He demanded. "That's far too easy! Give me something to work with here!"

"Definition," Lucy said, looking at him sternly.

Tony huffed. "Being afraid," He said shortly.

"Come on, Tony, you can do better than that," Lucy challenged.

"A distressing emotion aroused by impending danger, evil, pain, etcetera, " Tony found himself saying. "Whether the threat is real or imagined; the feeling or condition of being afraid."

"Synonyms," Lucy stated.

"Foreboding, apprehension, consternation," Tony rattled off. "Dismay, dread, terror, fright, panic, horror, trepidation, qualm."

"Antonyms," Lucy asked.

"Courage, security, calm, intrepidity," Tony said.

Lucy smiled. "Good," she said. "Let's take it a step further. Definition seven."

"Verb, with object," Tony said. "To regard with fear; be afraid of. Synonyms: apprehend, dread."

"Origin," Lucy said.

"Before 900," Tony said. "Middle English _fere_, Old English_ faer_, sudden attack or danger; cognate with Old Saxon _far ambush_, Dutch _gevaar_, German _Gefahr_, meaning danger, and Old Norse _far_ meaning disaster."

"Tough part:" Lucy said. "Synonym study."

"Fear, alarm, dread," Tony began. "All imply a painful emotion experienced when one is confronted with a threatening or dangerous evil. Alarm implies an agitation of the feelings caused by awakening to imminent danger; it names a feeling of fright or panic: He started up in alarm. Fear and dread usually refer more to a condition or state than to an event. Fear is often applied to an attitude toward something, which when experienced will cause the sensation of fright, such as a fear of falling. Dread suggests anticipation of something. Usually a particular event which when experienced will be disagreeable rather than frightening, i.e. she lives in dread of losing her money. The same is often true of fear, when used in a negative statement: She has no fear of losing her money."

"First quotation," Lucy said.

"Fear obscures reason, intensifies emotions and makes it easier for demagogic politicians to mobilize the public on behalf of the policies they want to pursue," Tony said. "Zbigniew Brzezinski."

"Correct," Lucy said with a smile.

"What does all that mean?" Steve asked, looking at Lucy curiously.

"It means that Tony's subconscious retained information compiled through rote memorization," she said. "Basically, his mind has a hard-drive with back-up files. He can't access it on a conscious level, but it's all still there."

"Who are you again?" Tony asked her, taken aback.

"Just Lucy," Lucy said with a smile. "Don't be afraid, alarmed or in dread, Tony. Your mind is fine, everything's still there, you just have a bad connection at the moment."

Tony frowned as she turned and left. She had known that he would have the answers to her questions, when he hadn't even known it himself, and she had calmed him down by comparing his situation with that of a computer, showing that she knew them to be what he understood the most.

"Who is she!?" He demanded of Pepper. "How does she know so much about me!?"

"We've known Lucy for a long time," Pepper told him. "She's... well, she was... I suppose she kind of still is, your apprentice. You can trust her, I promise."

Tony was still instinctively doubtful, but he trusted Pepper, and if Pepper trusted Lucy, than he could give it a shot. Maybe.

"She's my apprentice?" He asked. "And we get together and memorize the dictionary? That makes very little sense."

Pepper shrugged. "What can I say," she said. "Some people learn different ways."

Tony frowned in confusion, that made very little sense as well. "So..." He said finally, turning back to Pepper and Cap. "This war. Tell me about it."

Cap glanced at Pepper worriedly, and then turned back to Tony. "You don't remember any of it?" He asked.

"Not a thing," Tony said. "Tell it like Fury when he's giving a briefing."

Cap blinked, and then sighed. "Four years ago," he began. "We were alerted of some underground activity, a new group of villains known as the Spherical. They stuck to mainly low-grade stuff; a bomb threat here, a monster attack there, you know, usual villain group stuff."

Tony could argue that from his experience, usual villain group stuff was all new to him, but he decided that it just sounded like a terrorist group with superpowers, and let Cap continue.

"Then, three years ago, they hit their first major target," he said. "The war escalated so fast that we hardly knew what happened."

"What was their first major target?" Tony asked.

"Stark Tower," Pepper said quietly.

"What!?" Tony exclaimed.

"Yep," Cap nodded. "Of course, it was called Avengers Tower by then. It sort of became our headquarters. It's no surprise that they took it out first."

He sighed and sat down. "...The day the tower went down," he said. "Was the day we finally realized the full extent of the Spherical's power. Of course, by then, it was too late to head it off."

"Why?" Tony asked. "What's their intent?"

"The Spherical is a gathering of some of the most ambitious warlords of our time," said a new voice, and Tony turned to see Natasha walking towards him. She, much like everyone else, was unkempt and battle-worn, and her hair was even shorter than it had been, in a boy-cut that still managed to keep an air of femininity about her, but was more practical than long hair. Her outfit hadn't changed much, except for the fact that she had traded her long sleeved jacket for a tank top.

Now that Tony thought of it, everyone he'd seen so far had been wearing sleeveless shirts. He glanced down at his own shirt. Sleeveless.

Natasha was still talking. "Their intent is singular and everything they do, they do to accomplish their goal. They call themselves the Spherical because they intend to unify the earth and place it under one rule. No more kings, no more presidents, just a dictator and his enforcers."

"You're serious?" Tony asked.

Natasha nodded. "Needless to say, that didn't go over too well with us," she said. "We've been fighting ever since, although I'm sorry to say the Spherical has got the upper hand."

"Tell me the current situation," Tony said.

"The Spherical has built up an empire comprised of most of Asia, Africa and Europe, as well as Denmark, Alaska, and the Northwest Territories," Pepper informed Tony. "We've got control of most of the United States as well as South America, and the lower half of Canada. Australia is also still free, but it's holding it's own. It's not part of the Spherical or the Avengers."

"Wait a minute," Tony said. "The Avengers, that's the name of our entire movement, then?"

Natasha smiled. "We've been called a lot of things," she said. "The Rebellion, the Resistance, the Opposition... Heh, in political campaigns, the Spherical government calls us the Regression, and the general populace of their dominion call us terrorists. But nothing seems to stick as well as the Avengers."

"That's... pretty cool, actually," Tony said. "So then, where are we now?"

"We're in an underground stronghold in Whitehorse, Canada," Natasha said. "We're pretty much standing in the way of the Spherical, we're right on the border of Free Canada and the Empire. We've been holding the position for two months, If they take the city, it's a free ride to British Columbia."

"So, we're the rebellion to their Empire," Tony summed up. "We're in a foresty environment, we're under attack, and if we lose the battle we have to relocate somewhere else. Did anyone else notice the obvious throwback to Star Wars here, or am I the only one?"

"Actually," Natasha said with a smirk. "Someone has, and they've referred to this place as Yavin Four since the moment we got here."

Tony sighed. "You're talking about me, aren't you?" He asked. "I've made the joke before."

"Yeah," Steve said. "I'm actually just happy I understood it. You made me watch the movies back before the war started."

"Good, so I haven't been useless, then," Tony said. "What's the situation like at present? I mean, from the little bit I glimpsed earlier, we were in a full-out fight."

"At present, we're no longer under attack," Cap said. "Nat and I just got back from the outpost in a burb off the Klondike highway, the enemy was advancing, but we managed to head them off and at the moment, we're in a sort of eye-of-the-storm situation."

"Here in the main part of the city, we've got an eye as well," Pepper said. "We were being pretty heavily attacked last night, which is what you remember, but now they've been pushed back past the outpost Cap already mentioned."

"That reminds me," Tony said. "I distinctly remember being carried on a stretcher. But my suit weighs far too much for any group of people to carry me. What happened? How did I go down at all?"

Pepper, Natasha and Cap all exchanged a glance, and Tony felt alarm (Yes, Lucy, thanks for the definition) shoot through him.

"What?" He asked, sitting up again, this time ignoring the pain. "What happened to my suit?"

"We, uh..." Cap started. "We lost your suit three months ago."

"We what!?" Tony demanded. "What do you mean!? How did we lose it!?"

"The Spherical managed to get their hands on one of them," Pepper said quietly. "They... they did a complete scan, they pulled it apart, they figured out the technology. Every element of the suit is now exposed, they used reverse engineering to make a study out of it."

Tony felt anger boil inside of him. "They're using my suit against us?" He asked quietly.

"Heavens, no," Cap said. "We made it our top priority to destroy all the suits before they could recreate them, but that left you without a suit, and we heard from a very reliable source that they're manufacturing a weapon that can access the suit's functions and control it, so you decided not to build a new one of that pattern."

"Of that pattern?" Tony caught. "So I'm designing an entirely new suit then?"

"Well..." Pepper said. "You were. But... we can't trust schematics not to fall into the wrong hands, so..."

"So I committed the plans to memory?" Tony finished, his heart sinking.

Pepper nodded and looked at him worriedly.

"Alright then," Tony said, trying and failing at keeping the growing hopelessness he was feeling. "Not a problem. We'll just have to figure something else out for now."

He suddenly realized something, and looked back up at Pepper.

"Pepper," He said. "The tower went down and we destroyed all the suits. What about JARVIS?"

Pepper sighed, obviously she had been dreading the question. "JARVIS was lost," she said. "His entire system was destroyed, and you said... you said you didn't want to try and recreate him."

Tony felt like he had been punched. JARVIS was gone? How was such a thing even possible?

He swallowed and nodded once again. "Alright," He said quietly. "No suit, no tower, JARVIS is dead, and the earth is at war. No big. We can handle this. We can handle this, right Pepper?"

He looked up at her desperately, hoping for even a hint of good news or reassurance that it would be alright, that everything would be fine.

She glanced at Steve, who returned the glance with more worry.

"Oh come on," Tony said. "There's more? What else could possibly have happened to make this situation any worse?"

"Tony, maybe you should get some rest," Pepper suggested. "I mean, this has all got to be very difficult for you-"

"Please, for my sake, don't get started on the whole 'This must be hard for you' speech," Tony said.

"You need a chance to rest and absorb everything you've already learned," Pepper continued. "How about you take it easy for awhile, and we'll get you caught up later."

"Uh-uh, no," Tony said. "Lay it on me, come on, what else happened that's so bad it's worse than losing JARVIS?"

"Tony, Pepper's right," Steve said. "You need some time to come to grips with this. Trust me, if anyone knows a little bit of what you're going through, it's me."

"That's not how I work," Tony argued. "You wade into the lake a little at a time to get used to the water. I have to just take the plunge and adjust. It's as simple as that."

"If he wants to know, I'm not gonna hide it from him," Natasha said unconcernedly. "He'll have to be told sooner or later."

Tony looked from Natasha to Pepper and Steve, who exchanged yet another glance. He felt his curiosity spike. Why wouldn't they tell him!?

Natasha sighed when they both remained silent. Turning to Tony, she opened her mouth, closed it for a second, and then tried again.

"Tony," she said. "The Spherical captured Thor."


	3. Questions But No Answers

_Author's notes: MAJOR SPOILERS for IM3, so if you don't like spoilers, don't read._

* * *

Tony blinked. "...What?" He asked.

Pepper sighed. "Even though Thor fights for us, Asgard has remained neutral in the war so far," She said. "There are several sympathetic Asgardians, but until the Spherical poses a threat to the Nine Realms, the Agardians will not interfere. Ten days ago, Thor was going to travel to Asgard to once again try and gather a following for us. The Spherical found out about Thor's plans and they somehow managed to intercept him and overpower him. He's being held in a secret facility in France somewhere."

"But that's good news," Tony said, getting excited. "I mean, it's not good that they captured Thor, but this gives us an edge, they've given us an edge!"

"Yes," Pepper said. "They not only revealed that they've been studying Asgardian magic enough to intercept Thor and to keep him detained, but they've also made the mistake of capturing the prince of Asgard, which means they've become a threat to the other nine realms. You were trying to figure out a way to contact the Asgardians about Thor's capture, hoping to persuade them to fight."

Tony's heart sank. "Tell me I didn't commit those plans to memory as well," He said.

Pepper smiled. "No," she said. "You didn't. You've been working with Lucy to get them working."

Tony frowned absently at the mention of Lucy, then another thought crossed his mind.

"Where's Bruce?" He asked. "And Hawkeye? Where are they?"

"Bruce is currently in New York, handling the operations there and keeping an eye on Ella," Steve explained. "And Clint is on a spy mission, infiltrating the Spherical to get us information."

"Whoa whoa whoa, wait up a minute," Tony said. "Who's Ella? And why on EARTH is Clint trying to infiltrate the Spherical!? He's a well known Avenger, isn't he?"

No one said a word, and Tony looked around in confusion. "What, what'd I say?" He asked, trying and failing to sit up once again.

"The official story is Clint's dead," Natasha said quietly. "He 'died' four months ago, and began to infiltrate the Spherical at that time. He's almost at the top now, because of the importance of his mission, he's only been able to make contact a few times."

"Why Clint?" Tony asked. "I mean, he's good, but I would've thought you would want to play the spy. After all, it's what you do best."

Natasha shifted uncomfortably. "Well, um," She said. "The Black Widow is too famous. They'd be expecting me. Hawkeye is famous too, but as a soldier and an expert marksmen, not quite so much as a spy."

"Alright," Tony said. "Makes sense. So. Hawkeye is officially dead, then. And Thor's been captured. I have no suit, and now I don't remember the last six years of my life, not to mention, any information I might've gathered about the Spherical. Most of the Earth is imprisoned, Stark Tower was destroyed, the Nine Realms are in sufficient danger, and the only hope for the earth is a group of ragtag heroes stationed in the middle of Canada. That about sum it up?"

"Um..." Said Cap, looking thoughtful. "Yeah," He agreed. "For the biggest stuff, anyway. There's a lot else that's changed for you, Tony. Not as drastic as 70 years of progress, but quite a bit's still different."

"Oh, good," Tony said. "And here I was getting bored with this future. Lay it on me, Cap. What's one of these big changes You're talking about?"

Cap sighed. "Are you sure you want to do this, Tony?" He asked. "You need a little time-"

"Cannon Ball, Capsicle," Tony said, pretending not to notice when Cap visibly winced at the nickname. "Okay," Tony thought. "Ix-nay on the name calling. Gotta remember that he thinks I'm a friend now."

Which was another reason he wasn't so sure he should do this... he didn't want to be reminded that apparently, he had found and then lost a friendship here. He wasn't sure how he felt about having Cap as a friend. I mean, not that he was against it or anything, but... he wasn't intending to try very hard.

If it were just him and Pepper, now, that would work out just fine. But opening up his Plunge method to the supersoldier his dad had idolized and the one spy he most certainly would never trust over all other spies he would never trust? That was pushing it.

But, there was nothing for it. He had to take the plunge. "Hit me with your best shot," He said. "Or, you know, just a regular shot, whatever works for you. Don't want to be knocked out in the first round."

Cap blinked a few times, before sighing. "Alright," He said. "For starters, you don't have an Arc Reactor anymore."

"What!?" Tony exclaimed in shock. "What do you mean I don't have an Arc Reactor anymore!?"

"Tony, you underwent surgery five years ago, to get all the shrapnel out of your chest," Pepper said. "The surgery was successful, and you threw the Arc Reactor in the ocean."

"I what!?" Tony demanded again. "What do you mean?! What's left now!?"

He looked down at his sleeveless shirt, for the first time realizing that the comfortable glow of the Arc Reactor was gone. Just... gone.

"Tony, it's alright," Pepper said, but he ignored her. Sitting up despite the pain, he ripped the shirt off (when had he developed these muscles!? He was built!) He gasped as he saw... what appeared to be regular skin where the Arc Reactor should be.

He let out a strangled noise of surprise and then allowed Pepper to lay him back down to where he couldn't see it.

"What happened?" He asked after a long bit of silence.

"I already told you," Pepper said. "You underwent surgery to remove the rest of the shrapnel and then threw the Reactor into the sea."

"The sea!?" Tony exclaimed. "I pulled a Titanic!?"

Cap laughed harder than he should have, which helped ground Tony somewhat. "...Let me guess," he said. "Happy you got the reference?"

Cap chuckled, now somewhat embarrassed, but obviously more pleased that Tony was back to his wise-cracking self. The realization that Tony could read that at a glance, and that Captain America would be pleased that Tony Stark had smarted off, just made Tony frown as he still didn't particularly like the idea that he and Cap might be friends.

"Okay," He said. "Arc Reactor's gone. Made me freak there for a second. Actually, I'm still pretty freaked. Next one, and make it a good one. This future royally sucks. I need some good news."

"Well, for one thing," Pepper said determinedly, before Steve could talk. "You created what was perhaps your most important bit of engineering you ever could have thought up."

"Really?" Tony asked, getting excited. "What was it? Is it still, you know, working? Or did it blow up with the tower?"

"I carry it with me everywhere," Pepper said. "It's this."

She held out her left hand, and Tony's stomach did a backflip.

"Pep," He said, looking into her face, mouth open in surprise.

Pepper gave a wan smile. "You may kiss the bride," She said.

The ring around her finger absolutely screamed Tony, but was still elegant and graceful, befitting Pepper. At a glance, it looked like the same gold-colored titanium alloy Tony used on his suit, and the jewel in the middle glowed a faint light the color of the Arc Reactor. The jewel was held in place by tiny red prongs that entwined from the base of the ring around the jewel to keep it secure.

It was as if he had designed the ring with the intent to show the world that Pepper was irrevocably his, and no one could take her away from him. She was under his protection.

Taking her up on her offer to let him kiss her, he sat up slowly, still in pain but it was worth it. It wasn't a long kiss, just a quick little kiss, but Cap still blushed and turned away, which caused Natasha to quirk the corner of her mouth.

"Okay," Tony said, settling back down. "That... that was a silver lining. Good job." Of course, it kind of freaked him out that he had finally married her. Was he ready to be married? It was a huge commitment, it was a very big step. But... apparently, it had all worked out.

Tony still felt very overwhelmed, but at least it was a good overwhelmed, and Pepper would be there to help him. "What's next?" He asked, before he suddenly realized that Pepper had begun to cry.

"Pepper?" Tony asked, now worried. "Pepper, what is it, what's wrong? Why are you- was it something I said? Tell me it wasn't something I said!"

"No, it's not anything you said," Pepper tried. "It's- it's..." Pepper took a deep shuddering breath and held up her hands, a sign to wait, that she would explain as soon as she could compose herself.

Tony, Steve and Natasha waited, Tony growing increasingly anxious, Steve somewhat awkwardly as if he didn't know what to say, and Natasha patiently, her face a mask of no emotion.

Finally, Pepper gave a small sniff and looked up at Tony. "You asked earlier, who Ella was, and we didn't answer," She said.

"...Oh yeah," Tony said. "Well, who is she? And why did she make you cry? What's going on?"

Pepper shuddered again, and then looked into Tony's face. "Ella," she said. "Is our daughter."

Tony stared.

"...What?" He finally managed to whisper.

Pepper nodded. "Ella Virginia Stark," she said. "She's three years old. She's precious, Tony. She's so precious. She looks like you. She's got your eyes."

Tony barely heard her. The waves were back, rushing against his ears, pounding in his head.

He had a daughter!?

He, Tony Stark, genius billionaire playboy philanthropist, the Merchant of Death, the Mind of the Century, the Man of the Future, all the ridiculous names and titles he'd ever been given... he was a father?

He thought of his own father, the man who had seemed so cold, so distant... the man who had spent more time mourning the loss of Captain America than participating in the life of his son. The man who had always looked on unimpressed, never proud no matter what Tony did...

Would he be any different? Was he any different? Could he ever be a father to his child, could he truly carry that responsibility? Yes, he had Pepper's help, he knew he would always have Pepper's help, but... being a father... would he be able to handle it?

It seemed he was already failing, he thought bitterly. He was off, thousands of miles away, injured and helpless, with no memory of his own kid, while she was left to grow up in a war-ridden world. What if he had died? What if Pepper died? Who would take care of the girl?

How careless for him to leave her. How stupid. How could he have left his daughter? He, of all people, should know better than to leave his kid for some reckless mission.

"Tony."

The voice broke through his thoughts, and he looked up to see Pepper with her hand resting on his shoulder. "Tony," She said again. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah," He said. He blinked. "No," He amended. "I... I don't... how... how could I... what would she... I can't... I can't do this, Pepper. Please, I can't do this!"

He looked up at her desperately, and she bit her bottom lip. "Tony..." She said. "You can. I know you can. I've seen you. You're a great father."

"No," Tony said, frowning. How could he make her understand? "I mean, here I am, here we are, thousands of miles away... I- I didn't even remember her, I don't remember her, and I could've died. And she would've been left behind..."

"Tony, I know you feel like you can't handle this responsibility," Natasha said. "But trust me when I say, you turned out to be a great father. And I know, it doesn't seem like it now, but you did the right thing by coming here and leaving Ella in New York. This town is a critical component of the free world; and we needed you here to defend it. Ella is perfectly safe with Bruce in the US."

"Yeah, and that explosion was kind of a freak thing," Steve noted. "We're not even sure how the enemy got past the perimeter and close enough to rig an explosion."

But Tony was only half-listening; he glanced up at Natasha, feeling... exposed. How did she know so much about his innermost feelings and fears? It was just... wrong. She shouldn't know him at all.

"Alright," he said. "That's enough plunge for now. Go away."

Steve blinked. "What?" He asked.

"Go away!" Tony repeated. "All of you! Except for maybe Pepper. Yeah, Pepper can stay. The rest of you, get out. Just go away and let me think for awhile."

Natasha and Steve exchanged a glance, and Steve looked somewhat hurt, then they both turned and slowly walked away.

Tony watched them until they left the room completely, and then he turned to Pepper. "I'm sorry," he said. "I just- I needed them to leave. I barely know them, but they're acting like we've been close friends for years. And yes," He interrupted Pepper, who had opened her mouth to speak. "I know, we have been. But I don't remember it, so it kinda just freaks me out."

Pepper nodded. "I understand," she said quietly. She sat there in silence, and Tony leaned back and closed his eyes.

He was still in pain; everything hurt, especially his head. So he held tightly to Pepper's hand and let himself drift off to sleep.


	4. Make a Promise, Make a Wish

_Author's Notes: Sorry I haven't posted in awhile. LIFE IS TOO SHORT! But, I have a nice long chappy for you here. Perhaps even too long. I almost split this into two chapters, but really, it belonged altogether. It's got quite a lot of fluff near the end, but don't worry, now that I've got everything all explained and set up, next chapter, we'll start getting into action. And trust me, there will be so much action! :D_

* * *

When Tony woke up, the first thing he thought upon seeing the crowded med bay was _"Oh, great, it wasn't a dream."_ His second thought was _"Where's Pepper?"_ And his third was _"OUCH!"_

Grunting slightly, he shifted uncomfortably before making himself sit up. Injured or not, Tony wasn't one for hospitals, and stuffy dirty underground ones in the middle of a war zone were even worse.

"You're going to hurt yourself, you know."

Tony opened his eyes and saw Lucy standing over him.

"Yeah," Tony grunted. "I know."

Lucy sighed. "I felt obligated to warn you," she said. "We don't have any crutches, but I can get you a cane, if that would help."

Tony stared at her. "You're going to let me leave?" he asked suspiciously.

Lucy smirked. "Like you would do what I said anyway," she said. "My job is to treat the patients in this med-bay, and to help them either recover enough to go about their merry business or die in relative comfort. Trying to keep you down would only result in you hurting yourself further in petty and reckless escape attempts. If I give in now, at least I'll know you'll have a cane for about ten minutes, before you'll chuck the thing or bust it trying to defend yourself from an enemy."

Tony gave a dry chuckle. "So you know me after all," he said. "Bring out the cane, I'll try not to splinter it too soon."

"Sure thing, boss," Lucy said, turning and walking away.

Tony smirked as she left, his smile disappearing as he examined the room more thoroughly. The place was packed with injured and sick people of all ages, men, women and children. Some of them were dirty, wearing ratty clothes and no shoes. Some of them had red-stained bandages, some of them were pale and coughing. Some of them just looked scared. One kid in particular caught Tony's eye, sitting a little ways away and trying to act like he hadn't been staring.

Tony offered the kid a small smile, and the little boy looked back at him, offering a small smile in return.

"You're Tony Stark," The boy said weakly.

Tony bit his lip, then nodded. "What's your name?" He asked.

"I'm Timothy," the boy said. "My mom told me you would save the world. She said you'd avenge my father. Is... is that true?"

"Sure, kid," Tony said. Curse this lump in his throat. He needed to be cool for the kids.

"And my mom too?" Timothy asked.

Tony couldn't speak for a moment. "I promise, Timothy," he said. "I will avenge your parents."

Timothy smiled a small smile. "Thanks, Iron Man," he said.

"...Anytime," Tony said. Timothy looked over Tony's shoulder, and Tony turned around to see Lucy waiting a short distance away, cane in hand, looking on with her face carefully blank. "Ah, Lucy," Tony said. "Thanks for the cane. I'm gonna head out and do... superhero stuff. Tell you what, take care of my man Timothy here while I'm gone."

"Yes, boss," Lucy said with a half smile, stepping forward and handing Tony the cane. "You've always been a sucker for kids," she whispered when she was close enough. "And you think you'd make a bad dad."

Tony gave her a long hard look and took the cane. "Like I said," he said. "Thanks for the cane." Bluntly refusing her hand offered in assistance, he pushed down on the cane and stood up proudly, sending a sidelong glance at Timothy. "Take care of yourself, Timmy," he said. "Do what the doc tells you, take it easy, make sure you don't hurt yourself doing stupid stuff that'll get you killed." Looking down at Timothy and smiling his tight lipped smile, he summed it up. "Pretty much, don't grow up to be me."

Timothy looked at Lucy, who nodded. "I'd do what he says if I were you," she said. "Mr. Stark knows from experience what happens when you do stupid stuff and disobey the doctor's orders."

"I am offended," Tony said before smiling at Lucy. "...Thanks," he said. "For... whatever it is that you do. I'll talk later or something. See ya 'round."

With that, he turned and carefully made his way past all the injured people shifting out of his path, looking up at him and whispering excitedly.

_"Look cool, inspire hope. You can do this Tony,"_ he thought as he walked confidently past them, his head high. He paused for a second when he came to the narrow stairs leading into a small room above them, but with a deep breath, he climbed them with an air of easiness he wished was real.

Reaching the small room, he watched as a few guards jumped to their feet. "Mr. Stark," one of them said. "W-what are you doing up?"

"Uh, I would've thought it was obvious," he said. "I'm leaving. So, how does this work, is there some sort of passcode, maybe a key, what's the procedure here?"

"Um," one of the guards said. "W-well, there's one to get in, but not out..."

"Great," Tony said. "So go ahead and let me out, but remind me, what's the password today?"

"Well," the guard on the floor said. "Normally, I'd have to ask for your identification before I could tell you..."

Tony looked away and pursed his lips before turning back. "Really?" He asked, one eyebrow quirked. "You want to see _my_ identification?"

"N-no, Mr. Stark," The guard said. "Um, the password today is Fondue. It changes at midnight, same as always. I believe it is Agent Barton's turn to pick tonight."

Tony stopped and looked at him, frowning. "Agent Barton?" He asked. But according to the Widow, Clint had been officially dead for four months.

"Yes sir," The guard said slowly. "Agent Barton. You know, the Black Widow?"

"Ah, yes, got it," Tony said, giving his traditional smirk and pointing at the guard. So Clint and Natasha had gotten hitched as well. This would be interesting. "Now then," he said, waiting expectantly. The two guards stood at attention for a few moments. Tony waved a hand toward the door.

"Oh! Right," One of the guards said, moving to unlock the door. "Sorry, Mr. Stark. Hey, can I just say... Good luck out there. You've got all of us behind you, one hundred percent."

"Thanks," Tony said, feeling genuinely pleased. This was turning into a very weird day.

The guard pushed the door open, and Tony stepped through, the bright light blinding him for a second. He turned to wave at the guards before the door closed, and when he finally was alone for a second, he let out a breath of relief and leaned on the cane. Turning around, he blinked a few times to get used to the light, and looked around at his surroundings. He seemed to be in the downtown area of a small ghost town. The small room he had just left was a bunker disguised as a boarded up and abandoned store, and there were many similarly boarded stores all around. The street in front of him was small, room enough for just two ways of traffic, and it was riddled with potholes and cracks in the concrete, as well as littered with broken glass, scraps of metal and general garbage. There were a few rusted car bodies parked along the side of the road. Looking to the right, Tony could see a few low hills just out of town. Looking up and around, he saw low mountains all around the town, even though the buildings on the street blocked his view of most of the town. The hills and mountains were covered with pine trees, but some of the trees were burnt and brown in one large area, as if there had been a fire recently. Among the others there were several dead ones as well.

It was also very hot, which was somewhat worrying. Tony had never been to Whitehorse before, but he knew that it was supposed to have a pretty mild climate. It wasn't supposed to be this hot.

"Tony!"

His musings were cut short and he turned to see Pepper running up to him, looking freaked. "What-" she stammered. "You- What are you thinking? You're gonna get yourself killed! I can't believe- Why would you- Lucy." Pepper pursed her lips and glared at Tony.

"Sorry, Pep," Tony said. "I was going stir-crazy, I hate hospitals. You know how it is. Lu just did me a favor. But look! She gave me a cane!"

Lifting the cane into the air for a second, he put it back down as Pepper began talking, he of course beginning to talk over her.

"Tony, you've had me so worried over the past few days-"  
"I like the cane, it makes me feel distinguished."  
"And, with all the attacks on the border lately, and the situation with your suits..."  
"You don't have to- don't worry about me, I am fine-"  
"You're not, you're not fine, Tony, you're... you've been hurt-"  
"I've had... well, no, I can't say I've had worse..."  
"You haven't had worse, Tony, that's what worries me. This is, we're breaking new ground here, I mean, amnesia!?"  
"I know, believe me, it's... it's weird for me, too.  
"And I just... I just don't know if... if I can do this anymore..."  
"I mean, it's such a cliche... what?"

Pepper sighed. "Tony," she said. "I love you. I really do. The past six years have been more than enough proof of that, but... Tony, you're gonna kill yourself, and I can't be here to watch. It would destroy me!"

Tony, for once in his life, was speechless.

"I'm not... I'm not breaking up with you," Pepper said. "I'm not even saying we're taking a break. But I just can't..."

She stopped and began crying. "Tony," she said. "We're fighting this war to protect our family. But we're losing it as we fight! Do you know what today is?"

Tony looked around. "July?" he guessed. "The weather's about right, although much too hot..."

Pepper choked back a sob.

"Hey, hey," Tony said soothingly, taking her shoulders and gently drawing her into a hug. "Everything's alright... I mean, I- I hope it is."

Pepper laughed through her tears. "Today's July the Fourth," she said quietly.

"...Really?" Tony said. "Spangle's birthday?"

"Well, yes, but Ella was born today too," Pepper said. "She's turning three. We're missing her birthday. Bruce promised to videochat with us over the secure channel, but... we're still missing it."

Tony said nothing, feeling another wave of guilt and inadequacy. He had been on the other side of it, he remembered many birthdays of his own where his father had been absent. He knew now that it hadn't always been Howard's fault, the life of a businessman was erratic and demanding. But as a child, he hadn't understood such things, and even though he had forgiven his father, he still remembered the bitterness he had held onto for so long.

Pepper was still talking. "I mean, back home, they're... shooting off fireworks, having barbecues, eating watermelon. All over the country, they're celebrating life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. While we're out here, dying to give them that right."

"There's nothing I'd be more proud of," Tony said. "Pepper, I am so proud of you."

Pepper pulled away and looked into Tony's eyes. "But I'm no soldier," she said. "You're the soldier. Steve, Clint, Natasha, you're all the soldiers. I'm a... personal assistant, I'm supposed to be organizing galas, taking phone calls, answering emails. I don't even know why I thought I could handle this..."

"But you're doing great!" Tony said. "Pepper, I might not remember much about this war, but from the little I saw, you were leading these people in the way only you can."

"But it's killing me, Tony," Pepper said. "I'm sorry. The next secure quinjet leaving the base for home leaves in three days. I'm going to be on it. I'll still have missed Ella's birthday, but I need to go home before I lose my mind with all this stress!"

Pepper was crying again by this point, and Tony hugged her. "Alright," he said. "Alright, it's okay. I.. .I understand. You can only do so much. I'm sorry. I'm sorry I made you worry so much."

Pepper hugged him tight, then let go and stepped back. "Tony," she said. "I love you."

Tony bit his lip again. "I love you too," he said. As the lump came back up, he looked around for a diversion, any diversion. "So, uh..." he said. "Why is it so hot?"

Pepper let out a strangled laugh and wiped her tears with the back of her hand. "Global warming," she said. "The Spherical tells the general public that it's not as bad as it is, and nobody's bothering to question them. Those that do are either too insignificant to make a difference or they are silenced before they can rock the boat too hard. The Spherical's all about monitoring media."

"No kidding, if they're covering _this_ up," Tony said, looking around as Natasha came up to them.

"Tony, what are you doing out of medical?" She asked, frowning at him.

"I have a cane," Tony defended. "Look, I'm a big boy. I can handle being outside."

Natasha glanced at Pepper, who rolled her eyes, but nodded.

"Hmm," Natasha said with a shrug before turning to Tony. "You should just be grateful Bruce isn't here," she said. "He's the only person who can successfully make you stay in a hospital room. He won't tell us the secret, but whatever it is, it's effective."

"Now that, I'd have to see to believe," Tony said. "Or, er, remember. I'd have to remember it to believe it."

"So how are you liking Whitehorse?" Natasha asked, a smirk on her face."

"Uh," Tony looked around again. "It's... nice?"

Natasha looked at Pepper. "I take it you haven't told him our current whereabouts yet?"

"What?" Tony asked, looking between the two women. "Why? Where are we?"

"Nope, I haven't told him," Pepper said with a smile. "He never asked."

"Are you two just gonna keep teasing me like this, or do you actually plan on telling me this big secret?"

"Tony," Natasha said. "We set up our whereabouts on this specific street in honor of someone you wanted to remember."

"What?" Tony asked again. "Who?"

"Our base is set up on Jarvis Street," Pepper said. "That store you just left is the med bay. The old grocery store over there leads to one of our labs. HQ can be found in that diner, the armory is down the street in an old house, we can show you that later. Pretty much, Jarvis Street is where we set up camp."

Tony smirked. "Wow," he said. "...I really gotta learn how to let things go."

"No, I kinda like it," Natasha said. "I got used to having him around."

Tony glanced at her and put his walls back up. She wasn't supposed to be able to know JARVIS enough to miss him. "So, wouldn't it seem pretty obvious to you?" He said, changing the subject. "I mean, if you were looking for our secret base, wouldn't Jarvis Street be the first place you look?"

Natasha shrugged. "I think it's worth the risk," she said. "Besides, it helps. Makes you feel as if he's still hanging around, helping."

Tony nodded slowly. "... I can see that," he said. "So..." He tossed the cane to the side and smiled, taking Pepper's arm. "Time to get to work. Give me the grand tour, and then let's have a look at the plans for that Asgardian communication device thingie."

* * *

After a brief tour of the base, Tony had gone to his own lab a few streets over and had worked to familiarize himself with the lab and the plans while Natasha went on an assignment and Pepper went to attend to the plans for her departure, telling Tony when to get to HQ for the video conference with Bruce.

Lucy had joined him after her med bay shift, and Tony quickly warmed up to her, although he still didn't feel comfortable with how much she knew him. But he decided that she seemed like the kind of person he would enjoy one day being friends with, and so allowed her to talk to him while they worked.

He discovered several things about her, including her favorite flavor of ice cream, why she hated the color pink, and that she had once hated AC/DC but had grown to love them by working with Tony and now couldn't focus without it playing in the background. She still insisted on playing it quieter than he did, though, and he acquiesced because, really, she was still letting him listen to it without insisting he turn it off.

Finally, the time drew near to head to HQ, and Tony continued reading the blueprints. He had been sort of hoping to lose himself in his work, and perhaps not have to deal with the inevitable. But he hadn't been able to lose track of time, as he kept glancing at the clock involuntarily. He hated trying to deal with stuff. That's why he had Pepper. So even though he knew it was about time to leave, he refused to look at the clock and betray himself to it's knowledge.

"Tony," Lucy said, walking up to him. "It's about one o'clock. You should probably head out to HQ."

Tony glanced at the clock in feigned surprise. "Really?" He said. "Wow, it's later than I thought. Thanks, Lu."

Lucy turned up the corner of her mouth. "Yeah, you're welcome," she said, and Tony thought he heard a very faint tone of dry sarcasm, quite like JARVIS when responding to Tony's impulsive or erratic decisions.

"Well, this is just embarrassing," Tony said. "I can't seem to pull anything past you. Who are you again? How did we meet?"

"Stop stalling, Tony," Lucy said with a smile. "I'll tell you all about it some other time. Right now, you need to head to HQ. Bruce has been texting me all day. He refuses to believe you're alright until he sees it for himself."

Tony smiled. "Well, I can't keep the big guy waiting. See ya around."

"Bye, Tony," Lucy said. "Hurry out to HQ and be careful."

"Sure thing, Doc," Tony said, giving her a two fingered salute before leaving the lab. He walked down to Jarvis street and began heading toward the run down diner housing the entrance to HQ. He paused when he got there, not sure if he was ready to face his unknown daughter.

Finally taking a deep breath, he walked over and knocked on the door. A small window opened up, and a guard looked out. "Ah, Mr. Stark," he said. "I don't suppose you know the password?"

Tony felt ridiculously like a small boy asking for permission to enter a treehouse as he said "Fondue?"

"Yep, alright," the guard said. "You can't be too careful." Opening the door, the guard let Tony in, and Tony walked past him and down the dark stairs leading to HQ.

For the first several feet, there were concrete walls and a concrete floor, as it had once been the basement of the diner. Two of the walls had been removed, however, and for quite an expanse, the headquarters looked to be made out of whatever material had been available at the time. The floor was poured concrete, while the walls were dug out of the ground and framed with steel beams, concrete in some places but not others. Wires and cords came from a small powerbox in the center of the room, spreading out to all corners of the room. Examining the powerbox, Tony saw that it was powered by a new type of Arc Reactor, smaller than his... well, old one... and roughly the shape of a large computer chip, hooked into the powerbox.  
There were desks all around the room, circling the Arc Reactor, and there were people working around him, talking into headpieces and going through files. "Mr. Stark," one of the workers said. "My name is Agent Quartermain of SHIELD. I've been briefed on your situation and I'm to take you to the conference room. If you'll please follow me..."

"Hold it," Tony said, looking at Quartermain for a long moment. "You're the man who was playing Galaga," he said.

Quartermain laughed. "So that you remember," he said. They started walking towards a door in the back. "Yes, I was. Thanks for pointing it out, by the way. Got me a promotion."

"What!?" Tony asked.

"Turns out, they needed a handler to manage dealings with SWORD. They remembered me and I got the job."

"...You're kidding," Tony said.

"Nope," Quartermain shook his head and smiled. "Anyway, the conference room is through here. Mrs. Stark is already waiting, so go ahead any time. Now, I have to get back to work. Enjoy the chat."

Quartermain turned and left and Tony took another deep breath before stepping into the room.

Pepper was there, like Quartermain said, and she stood up when he came in. "Tony," she said. "I thought you would be late. I was afraid you'd be late."

"Come on, Pep," Tony said. "You know I wouldn't miss something like this. This... it's important. I would... I'm here, I'm not late."

"I'll have to thank Lucy later," Pepper said. "For now, it's about to start. You are so close to being late, Tony, it's not even funny."

Tony's response was cut off as the large video monitor on the wall began flashing "INCOMING MESSAGE."

Pepper looked at her watch. "Oh, he's early," she said. "Oh well. At least you're here."

"Pepper, I can't do this," Tony whispered, suddenly feeling a panic.

"Tony it's alright, it's just Bruce at first," Pepper whispered back. "He's waiting to bring Ella out until he's had a chance to talk to you."

The screen flashed again, and Bruce came on.

"Bruce," Tony said, looking up at him. "You gotta see this, man, you're on TV."

"Hey, Tony," Bruce said, smiling his traditional nervous smile. "You look... horrible."

Tony tilted his head. "Thanks," He said. "You're no prize either." Which wasn't true, other than Bruce having a few more lines on his face and his hair having finished graying, he didn't look all that different. It wasn't the same drastic change, like with everyone else.

Bruce laughed, and looked down for a second. "Lucy told me what happened," he said. "She said you don't remember anything of the past six years?"

"Yep," Tony said. "So excuse me for saying this, but wow, you turned gray!"

Bruce chuckled. "Yeah..." he said. "That's what happens when you work with Tony Stark for six years."

"What?" Tony said, pretending to be affronted. "No, I'm pretty sure you're just old. Pep's been working for me for what, sixteen years now? Seventeen?" Her hair's fine."

"I dye my hair, Tony," Pepper said.

"Irrelevant," Tony said. "I'm pretty sure that's just because of this war thingie."

"I've been dying it ever since Hammer," Pepper said. "I told you I couldn't handle the stress. I got my first gray hair the week I was CEO."

"Wow, that's intense," Tony said. "Fine then. So, you've stuck around then, Bruce?"

"Yeah, I did," Bruce said. "Every time I tried to leave, you threatened to track me down. And the few times I did leave, you found me pretty quick."

"Good," Tony said. "I was spoiled in the Chitauri mission. I got used to having someone speak English. Can't pass that up."

"Yeah..." Bruce said. "So, how're you holding up? I mean, a lot's changed for you in the past six years. To turn around and forget it..."

"I am holding up just fine," Tony said. "And don't worry, Cap already gave me the "this must be hard for you" speech."

"Did you listen?" Bruce said. "Don't forget, Tony, he knows what you're going through. Except, he had it even worse..."

"Yeah, yeah, Capsicle knows what it's like to wake up and have everything be different." Tony said, waving it off. "I got that bit too. I'll tell you what, if I need any help adjusting, he'll be the first to know. Until then, I'm fine. I've got this down."

"Well, if you're sure," Bruce said. "I'll go ahead and bring Ella out, then..."

Bruce stepped out of the shot, and Tony turned around. "Pepper," he said. "I have to go."

"You're staying right here, Tony," Pepper said in a whisper. "You can do this, you have to do this."

"I can't," Tony said desperately. "I can't face this."

"Tony, you face death on a daily basis," Pepper whispered. "Turn around and face your life."

"That's different," Tony said. "Facing death, I'm only screwing_ myself_ up if I fail."

"Tony, remind me to slap you later," Pepper said.

"Mommy! Daddy!"

Tony froze, hearing the voice. It was squeaky and full of excitement, so different from all the tension and seriousness he'd been hearing since he woke up. The voice of an innocent child, happy to see her parents on her birthday, not understanding nor caring about the pain and hopelessness of a world at war.

Tony turned around and looked at her, at his daughter. She was sitting on Bruce's lap, and she was leaning forward slightly, staring at the two of them with a look of delight on her small face, which had just enough baby fat to be slightly pudgy. Her brown eyes were suddenly filled with concern and she frowned. "Are you okay, daddy?" She asked. "Uncle Bruce said you were hurt. "Are you okay?"

All the worry melted away, and Tony smiled. "Yes," he said. "Yes, I'm okay. How's your birthday?"

The look of excitement overcame the girl's face once more, and she started talking all about the party they were going to have later, and the presents she was going to unwrap, and how Uncle Bruce had tried to bake her a cake but it had caught on fire so he was buying one instead. Bruce looked rather red-faced at that, but it was obvious he adored her.

As Ella talked, Tony watched her, carefully memorizing her features. He would not forget her again. Her hair was lighter than his and darker than Pepper's, and her small nose turned up slightly. As she talked, he saw her white baby teeth, and it made him smile.

Ella talked for a little while longer, and then she sighed. "I miss you," She said to them both. "When are you coming home?"

Tony clenched his fist, remembering the times he had said the same things over the telephone.

"We're coming home very soon," Pepper said next to him, taking Tony's hand silently. "Actually, Mommy's going to be home in three days."

The girl let out a high-pitched squeak, and turned around excitedly. "Did you hear that!?" She demanded of Bruce. "Only three more days!" She turned back around. "Daddy," she said. "Are you coming then, too?"

Tony opened his mouth, shut it, then opened it again. "I don't think so," he said, hating the words he spoke. "I'm very busy, I have a lot of work to do..." A newfound respect for his father came into Tony's heart.

"That's okay," Ella said, although she was obviously disappointed. "I got your letter with me. The last one." She reached up to a small heart-shaped pocket on her shirt, and pulled a folded piece of paper out of it. "Uncle Bruce helped me sew pockets on all my shirts, so I can always keep your letters with me. Like he does."

Tony blinked. "He keeps letters from me in his shirt pockets?" He asked teasingly.

Bruce got a weird look on his face. "Not exactly," he said.

"He keeps letters from Lucy in his," Ella said, grinning mischievously. "Bruce and Lucy, sitting in a tree..."

"You're kidding," Tony said.

Bruce shook his head, embarrassed. "Um..." he said. "A lot's changed for you, Tony..."

"Tony, Bruce and Lucy are engaged," Pepper said. "Ella's very excited, she's going to be the flowergirl."

Tony, once again, felt speechless. "Um," he said. "Well... Congratulations, I guess? When's the, um... wedding?"

"We haven't set a date yet," Bruce said. He looked old as he spoke, Tony noticed. "We're waiting, there are kind of more important things to do..."

"I see," Tony said. It made sense. Especially as Lucy was here in Canada with them.

"Two minutes," one of the people running the chat said. "Sorry to cut it short, but that's when we start becoming traceable."

Tony felt cold. Traceable? When had that been an option? Nothing of his should ever be traceable. He would have to look into that.

"Sweetie," Pepper was saying. "We're gonna have to say goodbye pretty soon."

"No," Ella said, eyes going wide. "I hate saying goodbye!"

"Me too," Pepper agreed, and Tony looked up at Ella, swallowing.

"You have to sing the song!" Ella demanded suddenly,straightening up desperately. "You have to sing happy birthday, or I won't get my wish!"

"Okay," Tony said. "We'll all sing it together. Bruce?"

Bruce chuckled and nodded. "I always sing on birthdays," he said.

"Okay then," Pepper said, smiling, although Tony could see more tears in her eyes. It really was a good thing she was going home. "I'll start us off. Happy birthday to you..."

Tony and Bruce joined in, singing the song, as Ella closed her eyes tight and bit her bottom lip, clenching her fists, wishing with all her might.

"Happy birthday to you, happy birthday, dear Ella, happy birthday to you..."

Ella opened her eyes. "Thank you," she said. "I won't waste my wish."

"What did you wish for?" Pepper asked her.

"Pepper, you can't tell other people your wish," Tony said. "Then it won't come true."

"Oh, right, I forgot," Pepper said with a smile, looking at Tony. "I also forgot which one of you is the bigger child."

"Ouch, that smarts," Tony said sarcastically.

Ella laughed. "Daddy," she said. "Don't worry, I think it's pretty o-vious who's the bigger child."

"Really?" Tony asked, looking at her. "Who?"

"You are!" Ella said, before dissolving into giggles. Bruce and Pepper laughed to, and Tony couldn't help but laugh himself.

"Sixty seconds," The man said.

The small family sobered. "H-happy birthday, sweetie," Pepper said. "I'll see you again in three days."

"Thank you, mommy," Ella said. "I can't wait!"

"Ella," Tony said. "Happy birthday. I'm sorry I can't be there with you."

"Don't worry, Daddy," Ella said. "I got to see you on the computer, and you sang happy birthday to me. I know you're busy."

"But I still wish I could be there for you," Tony said.

"Shh, Daddy, don't say that," Ella said. "If you tell people your wish, it won't come true!"

Tony nodded. "You're right," he said. "I... I love you, Ella. I'll see you as soon as I can."

"I love you too, Daddy," Ella said. "I hope you get better soon! I don't like it when you get hurt. It makes me scared."

"I promise," Tony said. "I'll be extra careful from now on, so that I don't ever get hurt again." And he meant it.

"Fifteen seconds," the man said.

"Ella, we have to go now," Pepper said hurriedly. "Goodbye, sweetie, We both love you very much! Happy birthday!"

"I love you Mommy, I love you Daddy," Ella called loudly, talking fast, a few large tears making their way into her eyes. It broke Tony's heart.

"Happy birthday, Ella, I love you!" Tony said suddenly. "I'll write you another letter tonight, I promise."

"Goodbye!" Ella yelled.

"Goodbye," Tony and Pepper said together.

The screen flickered off. Pepper began crying.

Tony stared at the black screen for a few moments. Everything that had happened to him over the past few days now felt more real than it ever had before. He realized he was crying himself, and it freaked him out. Yesterday, he hadn't even known that he had a daughter. And now his heart was broken that he was so far away from her, even after only four minutes with her. Remembering his promise to be more careful for Ella's sake, he suddenly remembered with shame the statement he had made before he saw her, about how facing death could only hurt him. He now realized in full what he'd always sort of known in the back of his mind: Every single thing he did that hurt him also hurt the people he loved.

"Pepper," he said, turning towards her. "Slap me."

Pepper choked on her tears and laughter. "With pleasure," she said, turning and slapping him.

Tony took it gladly. "Pepper," he said. "I'm so sorry, I've been a jerk. I've been a jerk for years. I... I was always willing to risk myself, to protect you.. .I didn't know that I was hurting you in the process."

"Tony, you idiot," Pepper said, turning to him and hugging him. "Just don't ever ever do it again."

Tony looked at the black screen as he held Pepper closer. "I promise," he said, to her and to Ella. "I won't."


	5. I Jumped Into A Hole

**WARNING:** _major war-themes in this chapter, and a bit of gore. Proceed with caution, I just thought it fair to warn you. But, I promised lots of action, and I am a girl of my word!_

* * *

The next day, Tony was working alone in the lab when the door opened and Pepper came in. "Hey, Tony," she said. "How's the communication device coming along?"

"Great," Tony said. "There are still a few design specs that need working out, but we should be able to get started building it within the week."

"That's great news!" Pepper said with a smile. "So, how do you like working with Lucy?"

"I like it just fine," Tony said. "She seems to be brilliant like myself, not quite as brilliant, mind you."

Pepper laughed. "Where is she, anyway?" She asked, looking around the empty lab.

"Oh, she left about twenty minutes ago," Tony said. "Got called back to the med-bay, something about a medical emergency."

"Oh, that's not good," Pepper said. "I wonder who got hurt..."

Tony took a sidelong glance at Pepper and smiled.

"What?" She asked, noticing.

"Nothing," Tony said. "I was just thinking about-"

He was cut off as there was the sudden sound of an explosion, extremely close. Tony grabbed the edge of the desk and Pepper screamed, falling against Tony as the ground shook, and a siren began going off.

Tony looked up, steadying himself. The steel beams were holding up, but small bits of loose dirt drifted to the ground. He looked around, there were innumerable amounts of chemicals and the room was cluttered with dangerous machinery. "Pepper," he said, reaching out and putting his hands on her shoulders to steady her. "We have to get outside."

"Are you crazy!?" She demanded. "We don't even know what's going on!"

The sound of another explosion sent the couple to the floor, and sent more dirt falling to the ground. A vial of some unknown chemical crashed to the ground across the room, and the contents began simmering on the floor.

"Whatever it is," he said, getting to his feet and helping Pepper up. "We have to chance it. We might get hurt out there. We will get hurt in here. Especially if those explosions get any closer."

"F-fine," Pepper said breathlessly, beginning to run toward the exit, closely followed by Tony, who was grabbing blueprints as he passed in an effort to save the information he and Lucy had been working on.

The ground was rocked by another explosion when they were halfway up the stairs, and they fell forward, still climbing and stumbling for the door.

They finally made it outside, and Tony saw several Agents running every which way, some carrying wounded people and some running towards a few smoldering remains of buildings.

"Tony! Pepper!" Natasha called out, running toward them. "What's your status?"

"Um, unhurt, I think," Tony said, and Pepper nodded beside him. "What's going on?"

"We're not sure," Natasha said. "There's been no enemy force sighted, nobody around without the proper clearance, and yet, we've got bombs."

Suddenly, there was a high pitched whining from behind them, building in pitch and frequency. Natasha went pale. "Your lab!" She exclaimed. "Take cover!"

Grabbing Pepper's other hand, Natasha began running from the entrance to Tony's lab, but almost immediately, there was a deafening boom and the world was lit up around the three. Tony felt the heat sear his back as he was pushed forward from the force of the explosion, and all he could do was hold tightly to Pepper's hand as the three were sent into the air. For an instant, everything disappeared, the pain, the fear, it all fell away and Tony spared no thought to anything.

Then everything came crashing back into reality as he hit the ground hard. He yelled with the pain of his landing, but all he could hear was a terrible ringing in his ears. He was in pain all over his body, and his head was throbbing, no doubt with some new injury on top of his previous ones. _"And after I promised Pepper and Ella,"_ he thought.

Suddenly remembering Pepper, he forced himself to sit up and open his eyes, hissing with pain as he did so. Next to him, Pepper was slowly getting to her hands and knees, and on Pepper's other side, Natasha was already kneeling, pulling herself to her feet with the assistance of a SHIELD agent. She was shaking her head and saying something, and she indicated him and Pepper. The agent moved on from her to lift Pepper and began carrying her away, and Tony moved to intercept, unable to fully grasp the situation. Another agent was suddenly there, helping Tony stand and leading him to follow the agent with Pepper.

As the ringing subsided, Tony realized that the Agent was yelling, trying to talk to him. It sounded as if the noise was coming through water. "...you somewhere safe as soon as possible. We're gonna wait this out and do what we can to-"

Another explosion, a muted one, sent them both stumbling to the ground, and Tony turned to see the agent holding Pepper pause to look around, a horrified expression on his too-young face, before turning and continuing in his quest to get Pepper to safety.

Tony stumbled to his feet and staggered after them, the other agent joining him a moment later, now injured himself, though not as bad as Tony. Together, they continued making their way down the street. Tony thought it odd that they weren't going in the direction of the hospital, but didn't give it a second thought as they passed the ruins of a building that had been standing less than an hour ago. The site was soldering and smoking, and Tony glanced into the rubble and was startled to see the remains of a burnt body, blackened and melted to the bone, until it looked more like a Halloween decoration than whatever unlucky person it had been that morning.

Tony suddenly felt sick, and leaning over, he threw up. Yeah, he was in a war, but it hadn't fully hit him before what being at war meant. War meant the man in the wreckage. When he was finished, Tony straightened up and he and the Agent continued making their way through the streets, as the sky was lit up with fire and the sounds of screaming and sirens and explosions. Soldiers ran past them heading back to the battle zone, herding civilians out of run-down homes in the direction everyone was madly running. Everywhere he looked, Tony saw crying children, screaming mothers, frightened fathers, he saw old men stumble and he saw young men shove past them. It was a mad scramble for safety, and it was everyone for himself.

Suddenly, someone shoved past the two of them, and they once again fell to the ground. Tony stayed on his hands and knees for a moment, trying to get the strength to stand, when he felt a strong but gentle hand take hold of his arm and lift him to his feet. Looking up, Tony saw Cap, looking anxious and grim, soot on his forehead, his hair even dirtier than it had been before. "Tony," Cap said. "Are you alright?"

"Fine and dandy," Tony said gratefully. "Hey, get that Agent too, will ya?"

Steve looked over and helped the agent to his feet. "Come on," he said. "We're close. Just a few more minutes and we can rest."

The Agent nodded, looking at Steve trustingly. "Th-thank you, Captain America," he said.

Steve nodded and the Agent, now able to leave Tony with more capable help, continued on his way.

Steve turned to Tony, and for a second, Tony considered refusing his help in his usual snarky manner, but when he suddenly got dizzy and almost fell to the ground without the help of an explosion or frightened civilian, he relented and allowed Steve to take Tony's arm and put it around his shoulder. Together, they made their way to a large storm shelter, and Steve led Tony through the doors, past crowds of hysterical people, and into a curtained off area that seemed to have been turned into a makeshift med-bay. They quickly located Pepper, who seemed shaken and mildly injured, but mostly alright. Tony sat down next to her and she threw her arms around him, crying. He could do nothing but hold her and close his eyes, letting his mind go blank as he wished nothing more than to forget what he had just witnessed.

* * *

Tony, now bandaged up even more, followed Steve and Natasha through the streets of the city. The bombing had lasted for only ten minutes, but it had felt like eternity. The entire city was smoking, and as they passed a building that had been hit, Tony could see fire still crackling lazily along the blackened rubble. The smoke and the ash and the dust from the shaken ground filled the air, giving a red and haunted affect to the city, drifting like fog and making it hard to see.

The three Avengers were followed by any able-bodied agents they could find, and their mission was clear: Look for survivors. Tony was worried sick; Jarvis street had been hit the hardest, and he hadn't heard from Lucy since she had left his lab an eternity ago. Pepper had rather stubbornly insisted to herself that perhaps they had hunkered down in the Med-Bay, and Lucy couldn't contact them because she was busy tending the frightened patients, but Tony was preparing for the worst.

One thought continued to plague his mind, and that was sorrow for Bruce. The man simply shouldn't have to deal with more loss, and Tony knew he would feel guilty for not being here to protect her. It would destroy him.

"Alright," Natasha said once they got to Jarvis Street. Tony barely recognized it, it had been hit so bad. "We're gonna split up and search the buildings. King, take Rower and Daniels and search the armory. Harrison, Smith, Lane and Gates, you've got the lab. I'll take Tony, Steve, Tyler, Jones, Davis and Greene for HQ. The rest of you, head to the med-bay. We'll join you as soon as possible."

Tony considered asking to switch groups, but bit his lip. HQ was more important, after all, so he followed the others to headquarters. The abandoned diner that had been the hidden entrance was now little more than a shell, and Natasha drew her gun, stepping over the glass and through the door. They made their way to the back of the diner and set to work clearing the rubble off the trap door. Finally, Steve reached for the handle and, after struggling for a few minutes, managed to yank the door open. Natasha went first, and they made their way down into headquarters.

The place was a wreck, all the computers were destroyed or in pieces, and the Arc Reactor in the center of the room flickered faintly, half of it melted and fused into the container harnessing it's power. The place was empty, although one corner of the room was buried in dirt, rocks and rubble, the beams in that corner having collapsed.

"Jones, Davis," Natasha said, indicating two of the agents. "Check the rubble for any trapped survivors. Everyone else, with me in the conference room."

The two agents headed for the corner of the room and began digging while Natasha led the way to the conference room. The door was hanging open, as the frame had been damaged, and Natasha pushed it open carefully and stepped inside.

"We've got survivors," She said, walking quickly over to one man as he lay unconscious against what had been a computer. She put her fingers to his neck, checking for a pulse. "Still alive," she said.

Steve went to a second man lying on the ground and checked his pulse. "Him too," he said.

"Agent Barton." The two agents checking the rubble came into the room. "The area was clear."

"Good," Natasha said. "Take Agent Donaldson to the shelter. Greene, Taylor, get Agent Lace."

"Yes, ma'am," the four agents got to work as the rest left the headquarters.

The group of agents sent to investigate the med-bay had returned, and were walking towards them. Tony felt his stomach sink.

"What's happened?" Natasha asked. "Why have you returned?"

"It's no use," one of the agents said sadly. "The whole thing is destroyed. No one could have survived it."

"What are you saying?" Steve asked, his face pale.

"I... I'm sorry, Captain," The agent said, lowering his head.

"No," Tony said. "No, I don't believe it."

Natasha didn't speak; she simply narrowed her eyes and quickly walked past the group of agents, heading for the store front that had once been the entrance to the med bay. They followed, just to stop and gasp at what they saw. The store had been leveled, a field of debris and concrete, while it was obvious the entire foundation had caved in. Meanwhile, smoke poured from the site and Tony felt a wave of heat that indicated there was still a fire somewhere among the wreckage.

"It looks like the med bay was the real target," the agent said. "The bombs had to have been numerous and well placed, the entire structure was obliterated."

Tony felt a few tears rise in his eyes, and he quickly wiped them away. This could not be happening.

Suddenly, he felt cold as ice, and he shuddered violently.

Steve immediately turned to him. "Tony?" he asked.

The cold left, and a small spark of recognition- although recognition of what, he didn't know- flashed through his mind. "No," he said. "Start digging. Someone's down there."

The agents all looked confused and Steve glanced at Natasha. "...Tony," he said. "There's no way-"

"Cap, trust me," Tony said, walking carefully onto the field of debris. He walked to the center of the field and stopped. Something felt right, he couldn't explain it, but there was definitely something here. "Here," he said, kneeling down and picking up a broken brick. "Start digging."  
Natasha immediately ran forward and started digging, closely followed by Steve. After a few moments, some of the agents hesitantly joined them.

"Can it be possible?" Natasha muttered as they dug, looking paler than usual.

"I don't know," Steve said. "She's never done anything like this before..."

"Wanna clue me in?" Tony said. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Lucy," Natasha answered. "She could have kept herself alive."

"What do you mean?" Tony asked. "How?"

"We'll tell you about it later," Steve whispered. "It's... kind of a secret..."

"Say no more," Tony said. "Let's just hope whatever it is, it worked."

They continued digging for almost an hour, moving loose rocks and stepping back while Steve pulled out the heavier bits of concrete and metalwork. It was slow going, but they were definitely getting closer to, what Tony assumed based on Steve and Natasha's comments, was Lucy.

Finally, they moved a slab of concrete and sent loose stones and dirt into a dark opening, where it fell across the pale and bloody face of Lucy.

"Get her out of there," Tony demanded, backing up. "Get her out of there now!"

There was what appeared to be a heavy beam between them and Lucy, and Cap tried pulling on it to no avail. "It's stuck deep," he said. "I can't just pull it out."

"Dig around it," Tony said. "Pull her out from underneath it! Just get her out of there!"

Any agents that hadn't yet joined ran over at the sight of her and began digging. Eventually she was half out, and Natasha took her wrist, feeling for a pulse. "She's... she's alive," she said, shock written on her face. "It's very faint, but she's alive!"

Steve shoved aside an armful of dirt and rocks and gently lifted her out from underneath the beam. "Got her," he said to no one in particular. "Clear the way, we have to get her to the shelter!"

No one needed telling twice, and Cap sprinted up the street with her in his arms, quickly fading out of sight in the ashy fog. The other agents turned back to the rubble. "Should we keep digging?" One asked.

Natasha looked at the ground and bit her lip. "...No," she decided. "No one else could have survived an explosion of that magnitude. Better to leave the dead here."

"How can you say that!?" One of the younger agents asked angrily. "How could you leave them there!?"

Natasha looked heartbroken as she turned to the agent who had spoken. "What would we accomplish?" She exclaimed. "There are still wounded to be tended to, we cannot afford to waste time digging up the dead only to turn and bury them once again!"

Everything went quiet, and nobody spoke. Natasha turned on her heel and marched away towards the shelter, and the other agents slowly began following.

Tony turned and looked back at the hole they had found Lucy in, and closed his eyes. Lucy had survived, somehow, she had survived. But everyone else, all the other people, were dead. He suddenly remembered with clarity the conversation he had had the day before, with the little boy. Timothy. He sighed and knelt down, putting his hand on the heavy beam. He would avenge Timothy and his family. The monsters who ran the Spherical could shake in their boots. For Timothy.


End file.
